Books – Canberra CityNewshttp://citynews.com.au
All about CanberraTue, 26 Sep 2017 07:12:01 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.221526277See ya later – ‘Noted’ takes a sabbaticalhttp://citynews.com.au/2017/see-ya-later-noted-takes-sabbatical/
http://citynews.com.au/2017/see-ya-later-noted-takes-sabbatical/#respondFri, 22 Sep 2017 02:25:03 +0000http://citynews.com.au/?p=154358SAD news is to hand that the Noted Writers Festival has decided not to run a festival in 2018 – but they’ll be back in 2019. After an action-packed event in May this year, and […]

SAD news is to hand that the Noted Writers Festival has decided not to run a festival in 2018 – but they’ll be back in 2019.

After an action-packed event in May this year, and collectively, a track record of work by more than 235 local, national and international artists across more than 150 free events, attended by more than 5000 people, the organisation find it needs to be “more financially sustainable”.

Thought up in 2014 by a collective of local artists who believed that our city deserved its own literary festival [Canberra had been without one for five years and the well-funded Canberra Writers’ Festival had not begun] the purpose of Noted was to build a festival with and for anyone who loves to write.

With a non-existent budget and financial help from friends like the “You Are Here” festival, the ACT Writers Centre and the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, they ran a crowd-funding campaign and were given space by Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres, which then became their auspicing body, major venue partner and “all-round cheer squad”.

In 2015, they say, they ran the inaugural festival on a budget of less than $4500, swelling in 2016 to $26,000 and then, in 2017, to $38,800. New friends came on board in the form of the National Library of Australia, The Stella Prize, YHA Canberra City, The AIDS Acton Council of the ACT, and Libraries ACT.

Each year more than half of the budget was spent on artist fees and they gave their volunteer production team members a small cash contribution via artsACT project funding.

But one-off funding has left them exhausted and the late announcement of 2017 artsACT project funding meant they had to outlay their own cash to hire a production team and book artists without knowing they could go ahead.

Now the plan is to look at alternative revenue sources and cost-sharing programming models beyond government funding.

“If you’ve got ideas for us, please let us know,” the team says. “It’s not goodbye, it’s see ya later.”

]]>http://citynews.com.au/2017/see-ya-later-noted-takes-sabbatical/feed/0154358Arts / Van Gogh’s irises inspire winning poemhttp://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-van-gogh-irises-inspire-winning-poem-uc-poetry-prize/
http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-van-gogh-irises-inspire-winning-poem-uc-poetry-prize/#respondThu, 21 Sep 2017 08:00:19 +0000http://citynews.com.au/?p=154288THE words, “Iris blossoms fluttering like a moth in different states of flight”, sound as though it could be about springtime in Canberra, but in fact these words from the poem, “Irises”, which has today […]

THE words, “Iris blossoms fluttering like a moth in different states of flight”, sound as though it could be about springtime in Canberra, but in fact these words from the poem, “Irises”, which has today (September 21) won this year’s $15,000 University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize, were inspired by a sympathy card featuring Van Gogh’s irises.

The winning poet from the US, Eric Berlin, could not be at the opening, but has written to the university saying: “The poem explores the strangeness of the fact that loneliness is an experience we all share.” He said he wrote “Irises” last September after having been granted a fellowship at an artist residency.

Berlin, who teaches online for The Poetry School in the UK and is assistant editor at the online literary magazine “The Cortland Review”, said he had been researching“ the poetics of stand-up, hoping to reach a wider audience… and then, suddenly, this!”

Melbourne poet Debi Hamilton was named runner-up, for the second time, for her work “Having Intended to Visit an Orange Grove, the Poem Finds Itself in a Supermarket”. She won the same accolade in 2014 for “What big plans you have”.

Hamilton, who was also joint winner of the Newcastle Poetry Prize in 2014, published her second poetry collection “The Sly Night Creatures of Desire” last year.

This is the fourth year the Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize has been offered, with 670 poets submitting more than 1000 poems from all over the world, including Greece, Germany, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia and Australia.

The prize is run by the university’s International Poetry Studies, which asked writers to submit a previously unpublished poem in English – translations were not eligible – up to 50 lines in length.

UC vice-chancellor Prof Deep Saini said the prize was “a key way for the University to continue to further its network of national and international connections, as well as being part of the larger international literary conversations that are taking place worldwide”.

At the ceremony, the runners up in the competition, Claire Åkebrand, Min Lim Audrey Molloy John A. Scott and Sally Van Doren, were also named.

Winners in the Health Poetry Prize, sponsored by the Dean of the UC Faculty of Health were first prize-winner, Joe Dolce, for his ‘found’ poem, “And Let the Wonder In,” which was read in his absence by Professor Diane Gibson.

Second prize went to Vanessa Proctor, who read her poem, “emergence” and third prize to Ian Gibbins, for “Dial Tone”. Other poets shortlisted for the Health Poetry Prize were Anna Fern, Andy Jackson, Kit Kelen, Emily O’Grady, Beth Spencer and Jena Woodhouse.

On hand for the presentation of the inaugural University of Canberra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Poetry Prize was guest poet and rapper, Steven Oliver, who performed two of his own poems before introducing the first prize winner, Wiradjuri poet Jeanine Leane, who then read her winning work, “Still Gatherers”.

Second prize in this category, it was announced, went to Brenda Saunders, for “Bush Tobacco” and third prize to Hugo Comisari for “Kookaburras, Carp and Concrete”.

A highlight of the ceremony was the Faculty of Arts and Design: Young Poets Awards, announced by Prof Lyndon Anderson, although they had already been announced at the UC Open Day in August.

First Prize of went to Arushi Joshi of Hornsby Girls High School for her poem, “Acceptance”, which she to the assembled crowd. Second Prize went to “Idyllic”, by Leila Barry from UCSSC Lake Ginninderra.

Five equal third prizes each went to “Tango” by Varsha Krithivasan from Hornsby Girls High School, “Lungfish” by Campbell Winnett from Trinity Christian School, “Steelworks Villanelle” by Elinor Stephenson from Smith’s Hill High School, “Them” by Melody Lehtonen from Hawker College and “Grave of the Butterflies” by Coco Huang from Hornsby Girls High School.

The ceremony concluded the week-long “Poetry on the Move” festival convened by poet Paul Munden.

]]>http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-van-gogh-irises-inspire-winning-poem-uc-poetry-prize/feed/0154288Arts / Writers feel the power, politics and the passionhttp://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-writers-feel-power-politics-passion/
http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-writers-feel-power-politics-passion/#respondWed, 16 Aug 2017 01:18:50 +0000http://citynews.com.au/?p=151899“POWER, Politics, Passion” is the triple-headed slogan of the Canberra Writers Festival, but it’s a lot more subtle than it sounds. According to the festival director, Vickii Cotter, it’s in no way intended as a […]

Tracy Chevalier… best-known as the author of “Girl with a Pearl Earring”.

“POWER, Politics, Passion” is the triple-headed slogan of the Canberra Writers Festival, but it’s a lot more subtle than it sounds.

According to the festival director, Vickii Cotter, it’s in no way intended as a flashback to the Carnell government’s once-derided “Feel the Power” catchphrase, but is rather an all-encompassing set of ideas.

“In Power, Politics, Passion we have essentially three streams…power doesn’t have to be in politics, but this is a festival that is just starting out finding its feet, so it’s great to have those themes, it helps us to create a brand,” she says.

Cotter says that while “Power” may be expressed in terms of politics, “it’s so broad that it gives us a lot to talk about, like women at work, a session with Virginia Haussegger, Jamila Rizvi and Catherine Fox and women in the media with Kathy Lette, Katharine Murphy and Haussegger”.

Noting “quite a market for writings about military matters”, they’ve programmed a military stream, with writers such as Robert Macklin, Ian McPhedran and Ian Townsend. There’ll also be a crime stream, which can take in power and the passion that she believes underlies the work of all writers.

Directing the event for the second year, Cotter has been working with a team that includes Sydney arts consultant Jennifer Bott, designated “artistic” director for the year, and chair and Canberra “No, Minister” author, Allan Behm.

“After last year we had terrific feedback from the national institutions and the festival has really taken off, she enthuses. Describing it as “a perfect fit for Canberra”, she sees as pluses the fact that we have academics, writers, authors and “amazing buildings” in national institutions that are imposing but still “cosy”, such as Old Parliament House, where the festival offices are located.

There will be more than 100 events, including “in-conversation” sessions, workshops, book launches, themed events and a silent-reading party running at eight national venues.

The opening-night dinner at the Portrait Gallery will feature “a rollicking tale of real food” by gourmet farmer Matthew Evans.

Jane Caro… on a panel called “Women’s Defining Moments in Australian History”.

There will also be a hunt for the elusive French black truffle followed by a gourmet lunch and a truffle-infused author talk by Sunni Overend, at The Truffle Farm, Mount Majura Road, Majura.

For a fledgling festival, Cotter believes the line-up is impressive, with international guests such as London journalist, Reni Eddo-Lodge; Rutger Bregman, deputy editor-in-chief at “Der Spiegel”; German writer and journalist Dirk Kurbjuweit, and Andy Martin, the first surfing correspondent to the London “Times”

Fiction writers from overseas include Tracy Chevalier, best-known as the author of “Girl with a Pearl Earring”; Elizabeth Kostova, whose new novel “The Shadow Land” is set against the culture of Bulgaria, and Samantha Shannon, whose “The Bone Season” series fits into the festival’s science-fiction stream.

Canberra authors appear in the political stream, at book launches and in several workshops, but indigenous writers are conspicuous by their absence, although Cotter assures “CityNews” that a Saturday media workshop is a way “to make a start on creating a more diverse program”.

But, she says, they do carefully try to cater to the newer generation of writers and readers through a young adult literature stream and “great kid shows at the National Library and National Museum of Australia”.

Powerful media identities are to the forefront throughout the program, with the festival’s “Ministry of Truth” session garnering Bregman, Senator Katy Gallagher, Katharine Murphy, George Megalogenis and Tony Jones to navigate a new era of newspeak and fake news. Elsewhere, the “All Stars Panel” will see Tracey Spicer, Richard Fidler and Julia Baird discussing questions of Australian identity.

Closing night ticks a couple of boxes with “Girls Night In: Live and Dangerous”, an onstage event at Llewellyn Hall featuring author Kathy Lette, comedian Jean Kittson, fashion journalist Maggie Alderson, Canberra-raised interviewer Jamila Rizvi and social commentator Jane Caro, who also appears on a panel called “Women’s Defining Moments in Australian History”.

And the feather in the festival’s cap?

That would have to be “The Harry Potter Show with Professor Frankie” on Saturday at the National Library with Prof Frankie Falconette, designed for ages 9-12. It’s free, but you’ll have to book.

The Canberra Writers Festival, Friday, August 25 to Sunday, August 27. Bookings and details at canberrawritersfestival.com.au or 132 849.

]]>http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-writers-feel-power-politics-passion/feed/0151899Arts / Monday’s the day for art possibilitieshttp://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-mondays-day-art-possibilities/
http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-mondays-day-art-possibilities/#respondFri, 23 Jun 2017 05:02:46 +0000http://citynews.com.au/?p=149759APPLICATIONS for arts projects in 2018, and nominations for the ACT Book of the Year will open this Monday, June 26. “This is a fantastic opportunity for our arts community to apply for funding for […]

APPLICATIONS for arts projects in 2018, and nominations for the ACT Book of the Year will open this Monday, June 26.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our arts community to apply for funding for their arts activities,” says ACT Minister for the Arts and Community Events, Gordon Ramsay.

Project funding supports the development of artists at all stages of their careers – applications are open to individuals, groups and arts organisations seeking to develop their artistic skills through project work. Community organisations wishing to undertake projects with a professional artist are also encouraged to apply.

The ACT Book of the Year Award recognises and rewards contemporary literary works including fiction, non-fiction and poetry, with a prize of $10,000, which goes towards supporting the development of local writers and promoting writing in the ACT.

In announcing the opening of applications, Mr Ramsay stressed that an important part of funding is the peer assessment process. This emphasis comes in the wake of savage cuts to project funding in 2017, which have since been partly rectified by Minister Ramsay.

A public Information session will be held at Gorman Arts Centre from 5.30pm to 6.30pm on Tuesday, July 4.

Arts ACT will also facilitate individual 20 minute sessions for applicants at Ainslie Arts Centre on July 11, at Tuggeranong Arts Centre on July 13, and at Belconnen Arts Centre on July 17, all from 12pm to 2pm. Bookings essential to artsACT on 6207 2384.

Applications for both Project Funding and nominations for Book of the Year due by 5pm, Friday, July 28 to arts.act.gov.au

]]>http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-mondays-day-art-possibilities/feed/0149759Arts / Warren wins Best Novel at Ditmar Awardshttp://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-warren-wins-best-novel-ditmar-awards/
http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-warren-wins-best-novel-ditmar-awards/#respondWed, 14 Jun 2017 02:37:06 +0000http://citynews.com.au/?p=149287CANBERRA writer Kaaron Warren’s novel “The Grief Hole” has been named Best Novel in the 2017 Ditmar Awards for Australian science-fiction, fantasy and horror writing. The front runners, chosen by ballot, were announced at the […]

]]>CANBERRA writer Kaaron Warren’s novel “The Grief Hole” has been named Best Novel in the 2017 Ditmar Awards for Australian science-fiction, fantasy and horror writing.

Kaaron Warren

The front runners, chosen by ballot, were announced at the 56th Australian National Science Fiction Convention “Continuum 13” in Melbourne last weekend.

Other awards also announced on the night, included the Peter McNamara Achievement Award, which went to Rose Mitchell, and the A. Bertram Chandler Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science Fiction, which went to Bill Wright.

It’s just one in a long line of awards for Warren, who carried off the 2016 Australian Shadows Award for Best Short Story last year for “Mine Intercom”, described by the judges as “a good old fashioned ghost story”.

While she doesn’t shy away from being described as a “horror fiction” writer, Warren told “CityNews” last year, when her fourth novel “The Grief Hole” was launched by Marion Halligan, that she also wrote about serious issues like domestic violence and social questions.

“I believe audiences are looking for a human story,” she said.

The full list of the 2017 Ditmar Awards is as follows:

Best novel, “The Grief Hole” (Kaaron Warren, IFWG)

Best novella or novelette, “‘Did We Break the End of the World?” (Tansy Rayner Roberts in Defying Doomsday, Twelfth Planet Press)

The program, an initiative of the ACT Writers Centre in close collaboration with UNSW Canberra and supported by the Copyright Agency Ltd, seeks to bring Canberra writers of national and international stature who would not otherwise be able to access the state’s resources.

Carmody’s “Obernewtyn Chronicles”, which she began writing in high school, are beloved of young people all around Australia. As well, her short stories and books have been translated around the world.

“We’re so excited about the appeal of Isobelle Carmody’s work to the undergraduate defence force cadets we have on campus, who have come out of school systems where her books are all hugely enjoyed,” says Professor Nicole Moore of UNSW Canberra.

The writers-in-residence have access to the facilities of UNSW Canberra and are encouraged to engage with students and researchers on campus. Isobelle will be accommodated at the Gorman Arts Centre for one month and immersed in the broader creative community through the ACT Writers Centre.

The ACT community, and ACT Writers Centre members in particular, will benefit immensely from Isobelle’s presence here,” says Sarah Mason of the ACT Writers Centre.

The recipients to follow this year’s winner have also been named today. In 2018, prize-winning non-fiction writer Jane Gleeson-White will spend her time in Canberra researching a novel set during World War II. Then, in 2019, poet Angela Gardner will take up the position. Her project on “Air” is set to include some novel public programs for Canberra – including balloon flying, but no mention has been made of Skywhale as a possible poetic muse.

]]>http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-carmody-named-act-writer-residence/feed/0148979Arts / Canberra Writers Festival cooks up a ‘feast’http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-canberra-writers-festival-cooks-feast/
http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-canberra-writers-festival-cooks-feast/#respondFri, 19 May 2017 02:24:19 +0000http://citynews.com.au/?p=147789ONE of the most powerful movers and shakers in the Australian arts scene has been appointed to direct the 2017 Canberra Writers Festival. Jennifer Bott, a former CEO of the Australia Council, the National Portrait […]

]]>ONE of the most powerful movers and shakers in the Australian arts scene has been appointed to direct the 2017 Canberra Writers Festival.

Jennifer Bott

Jennifer Bott, a former CEO of the Australia Council, the National Portrait Gallery, Musica Viva and the UNSW Foundation, has been appointed as the event’s artistic director and says: “Writers Festivals are ultimately festivals of ideas, and Canberra provides a fertile environment for such a feast.”

“Power, Politics, Passion” will continue to be the slogan of the festival, allowing a focus on “thought-provoking topics such as war, peace and insecurity”, but as well, there will be several new events including wine and crime shows and a program for young adults.

With estimates of more than 5000 attendees, last year’s inaugural festival was held across three precincts with the support and collaboration of Canberra’s national institutions and other partners like the National Press Club of Australia and Doma Hotels.

]]>http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-canberra-writers-festival-cooks-feast/feed/0147789Arts / Stories of older Canberrans in new bookhttp://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-stories-older-canberrans-new-book/
http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-stories-older-canberrans-new-book/#respondThu, 11 May 2017 00:59:42 +0000http://citynews.com.au/?p=147387THERE were freshly made scones, jam, cream and a cuppa yesterday at BaptistCare’s Carey Gardens in Red Hill as residents, school children and dignitaries packed in for the launch of a new book. The 56 […]

]]>THERE were freshly made scones, jam, cream and a cuppa yesterday at BaptistCare’s Carey Gardens in Red Hill as residents, school children and dignitaries packed in for the launch of a new book.

‘Important to Me’ cover

The 56 page book, “Important to me: Snapshots from elders in objects and stories”, features the stories of elderly Canberrans and the objects of personal significance in their lives. It was made possible by a community projects grant from the ACT Government “Important to me” and was part of the “Health and Heritage programs” run for seniors in Canberra. 200 books have been printed, copies of which will go to the National Museum, the National Library and the ACT Heritage library.

Pip McNaught with display of memorabilia

Author Pip McNaught, a long-time staffer and now associate at the National Museum of Australia, was on hand for the launch performed by the Minister for Veterans and Seniors, Gordon Ramsay.

The happy crowd included a representative from Alzheimer’s Australia and children from the nearby Red Hill Primary School who, “CityNews” was told by residential care manager Jill Dexter, regularly visited the aged care facility and even adopted “pseudo grandparents” at Christmas time.

In launching the book, Minister Ramsay noted the passion for reading among Australians and praised the project as one that gave a snapshot of families and life in the community.

“It’s important to catch those stories and make connections, so that we see the way the past influences who we are,” Mr Ramsay said.

Looking at the precious objects on display, he confessed that he too was “great accumulator”, and believe that we should look at the things around us carefully before we throw them away.

Pickering, McNaught and Minister Ramsay at the launch

Dr Mike Pickering, from the National Museum of Australia, who had provided Ms McNaught with a desk and office facilities for her research, told those present about how 49 years ago as a student, he had interviewed his own grandmother for one of his essays. He still has that essay and elements of it suddenly became relevant a couple of years ago when the Museum was mounting an exhibition on World War I and realised it knew little of the 1919 flu epidemic, during which his grandmother was a nurse.

“She was just an ordinary person, but her story could be the story of hundreds of thousands of people,” Dr Pickering said.

Later Dr Pickering told “CityNews” that he considered this book a good model for local history.

“No story is too trivial… history is a jigsaw” he said.

As for Ms McNaught, this inclusive project she said, was the kind of thing she most enjoyed. Although she had worked as a curator at the National Museum for 15 years, she had started out at a small Townsville museum, and it was in small facilities like that where her heart was.

“I love the feel, the eclectic mix,” she said.

She particularly enjoyed seeing how the participating residents responded.

“Seeing their own stories in black-and-white makes them stand out from being just a resident in an aged care facility,” she said.

Many stories focus on World War II, one on the humble biscuit, and in an unusual one by Colin and Joan Stockbridge, on a visit to the USSR in 1976. Objects range from medals, artworks and a chocolate sent by Queen Victoria to Joyce Greenaway’s father Ashley Whitney, a participant in the Boer War.

When, five years ago, she had the idea of producing a book like this one, she wrote to seven aged care centres in Canberra and the diversional therapist with BaptistCare, Julie Grant, wrote straight back and the project started.

After an abortive attempt to gain a grant from the rather “snooty” arts bureaucracy, she saw that there were community participation action grants through “Veterans and Seniors” and got one of those.

]]>http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-stories-older-canberrans-new-book/feed/0147387Arts / ‘Noted’ explores what it is to be a writerhttp://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-noted-explores-writer/
http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-noted-explores-writer/#respondMon, 08 May 2017 02:00:05 +0000http://citynews.com.au/?p=147157By Samara Purnell and Helen Musa.

]]>INFORMALITY was the keynote of the “Noted” festival, which closed on Sunday after a ripper four days from May 3 to 7.

Stalls at the Publishing Fair

Canberra’s festival, directed by the busy Lucy Nelson, is dedicated to emerging and experimental writing from diverse backgrounds, and was host to mostly (though not exclusively) young crowds packing into the Gorman Arts Centre. It was striking how many people wanted to stop for a chat about what was going on – in all it was a glorious day for a leisurely exploration of what it is to be a writer.

There was plenty to keep people occupied, with sessions both inside and outside bearing titles like “Tales of Wonder”, “Tongues at the Table”, “The ‘Fearless’ Writing Project”, “Story Corner”, “Limiting Entropy” and the centrepiece of the whole festival, the Publishing Fair.

Duncan Felton, the coordinator of the Fair, stopped by to tell “CityNews” that there were around 50 stalls on the day, about half of them selling zines and the rest selling independently published books, journals, CDs, and other printed material. Felton said the aim was to “draw people in” to reading.

Scissors Paper Pen – writing on the wall

While the strains of a French chanteuse could be heard in the E block courtyard and some a cappella singing practice in the front foyer of C-block, the other courtyard saw poets in full flight. At the back of C block a writing project could be seen spearheaded by the Scissors Paper Pen collective, where kick-off paragraphs were posted on the wall with the invitation for members of the public to extend the story.

Meanwhile, preparations were afoot for the final showing of “Pulpture”, a collaboration between Blemish Books, Lesley Boland and Nicci Haynes designed to find creative ways to re-purpose unsold books, or turning books into art.

One stallholder said it was all about inclusiveness, “not just advising people what to read, but how to read”. “CityNews” overheard a zine seller enthusing, “I can’t believe it we’ve sold all but one”, while a less literary passer-by exclaimed, “I’ve come for the coffee”.

The earlier part of the festival featured several very substantial symposia and talks. “CityNews” arts writer Samara Purnell had dropped in on one in the main hall at Gorman Arts Centre, the launch of The Canberra Women Writers Network on May 4.

Panel at the launch of The Canberra Women Writers Network

The launch of The Canberra Women Writers Network consisted of a panel of female writers, Rhyall Biest, Bec Fleming, Rose Chen and Stella Frances. The evening began with a short film made by the panel, aimed primarily at highlighting the under representation of women across many art forms, in particular writing, publishing and music production.

A vox pop of (admittedly only three) young people revealed that naming female writers, when put on the spot, was a challenge, with JK Rowling being the only name called to mind.

Fleming and Chen, who writes romance novels, noted the importance of friendship and support they had received from the women in the network.

Frances, who writes military romance novels, told those present that she had learnt collaboration at Gorman House many years ago in the very same room. She told those present she had the idea of writing about an amputee, which was suggested to her through networking and said she had never considered it but found it inspiring and began writing the novel. Positive feedback from her short story gave her an “I can do this” feeling and her work was published.

The speakers expressed the hope that the network, which aims to raise the profile of female authors and creative artists, might go some way toward easing the “Imposter” syndrome effect that some women may feel as unpublished writers, as the CWWN is for writers of all genres, published or not.

Attendees were asked to participate in a short online survey on the types of events and services they would like to see the CWWN provide, with some puzzlement surfacing over the voting icons – what, for instance, did the “cat” icon mean??

And the results? Positive voting was for podcasts with local authors, writing contests, genre-swaps (teaching one art form to someone from another and vice versa) and free workshops for women over 60 to tell their stories.

But after being told that when an A-league basketball team was included in a professional ballet production of “The Nutcracker”, it was a huge success, the poll didn’t show much enthusiasm about recreating an event like that.

In keeping with the focus of “Noted” the emphasis was on writing, pure and simple.

]]>http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-noted-explores-writer/feed/0147157Arts / ‘The Bulletin’ is back – onlinehttp://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-bulletin-back-online/
http://citynews.com.au/2017/arts-bulletin-back-online/#respondWed, 03 May 2017 00:34:22 +0000http://citynews.com.au/?p=146781“STOP the presses”, said staff at the National Library of Australia because Australia’s longest running magazine, “The Bulletin” is back – online. The first six years of the magazine often called the “Bushman’s Bible”, which […]

]]>“STOP the presses”, said staff at the National Library of Australia because Australia’s longest running magazine, “The Bulletin” is back – online.

Photo courtesy of the NLA

The first six years of the magazine often called the “Bushman’s Bible”, which ran from 1880 to 2008, has been digitised and made accessible by the National Library through Trove.

New director-general of the National Library of Australia, Dr Marie-Louise Ayres, said: “With these first years of the magazine now available via Trove, a new generation of readers now have access to some of our finest literary content and illustrations – to say nothing of a laugh or two.”

“Banjo Paterson, CJ Dennis, Dorothea Mackellar, Steele Rudd, Katherine Susannah Pritchard were just some of the bylines that graced those early pages,” she said.

The digitisation of the first six years was possible with the support of the State Library of NSW and the online research and publishing tool, AustLit.

“Now, thanks to Federal Government assistance through its Modernisation Fund, we plan to digitise more issues of this quintessentially Australian magazine,” she said.

“The Bulletin” was the magazine of an Australia many of us would recognise. Founded by JF Archibald and John Haynes in 1880, the first magazines were a mix of political comment, news that was often not fit to print and literary content that made it an outstanding platform for young and aspiring writers.

It even rated a mention in DH Lawrence’s 1923 novel, “Kangaroo” — “It [The Bulletin] beat no solemn drums. It had no deadly earnestness. It was just stoical and spitefully humorous.”

By 1961, when it was bought by Australian Consolidated Press, it shifted to a news magazine format under the editorship of Donald Horne.